Spring 2012https://barnard.edu/taxonomy/term/658/all
enPresident's Page: Eat, Eat, Lovehttps://barnard.edu/headlines/presidents-page-eat-eat-love
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-142" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">president</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <h4><img alt="Debora Spar, Photograph by Steve DeCanio" class="image-inline_small" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_small/public/images/inline/deboraspar_00103_bw_lane_3.jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0;" title="Debora Spar, Photograph by Steve DeCanio" />Every year, for somewhere between two and four weeks, my 86-year-old Greek father-in-law comes to visit. During that time, my house is full of the steams and smells that only someone born in Europe before the war can truly produce.</h4>
<p>My children feast on chicken simmered for days with garlic and on crispy potatoes that melt on your tongue. And my kitchen is coated with so much olive oil that I want to cry. There is oil on the refrigerator door, in the cat’s bowl, in little glimmering pools along the stove. There is oil sputtering up from beneath the beef that he swears cooks only in its own juices and in the potato pancakes that taste lighter than air. There is so much oil, and so much salt, that I swear we’re all going to die before breakfast. But of course we don’t, and morning finds us only licking the bowls of whatever bits are left from the previous night’s feast. Because he has found, I’m sure, the secret of life: fat, in large quantities, stirred slowly with love.</p>
<p>When he was younger, my father-in-law fought the Nazis and the communists and survived a famine so severe that villagers took to eating the ancient staves of corn that lined the roofs of their chicken coops. He is not afraid of growing old or of falling on the ice-slicked streets of Toronto, where he spends the winter months. He is only afraid of bad food, which means, so far as I can tell, any food he hasn’t cooked himself. I’ve tried making him toast and grilled fish and chicken, all to no avail. The toast has butter, or has been near butter or knows another piece of bread that once associated with butter, which he won’t eat. The fish didn’t come from the Mediterranean, and the chicken just wasn’t good, like his chicken. The man regularly crosses the Canadian border laden with three full suitcases of food—olives, chocolate, taramosalata, cheese, and nowadays, bread, since apparently there is no place in New York to get good bread. He cannot believe that we live so far away from Greek groceries and still survive. When my husband took him to a fine Greek restaurant that he had reviewed well in advance, my father-in-law declared it okay, but not good. He rolled his fish in a napkin and took it home to cook it again. The right way.</p>
<p>It’s a running joke in our household, the way that Papou (Greek for grandfather) insists on cooking for us all; the way in which he imposes his affection through precisely measured dribbles of honey and cinnamon. Yet I’ve also started to notice that I do it too. Not with olives or fish, perhaps, and not with the same time and attention that he brings to the task, but with something that approaches the same level of obsession. When my three kids were younger and I was struggling to get tenure at Harvard, I fell every evening into a familiar she-bat-out-of-hell routine: dashing through the grocery store, running in the door and throwing chicken, potatoes and broccoli around the stove top and into dinner. None of this was really necessary. My husband would have been happy to plunk some pork chops on the grill. My children would have been ecstatic with nonstop macaroni and cheese. It was I who needed to cook; I who needed the ancient identity that seemed to cling to sticks of melting butter and wafting smells of meat. So what, I told myself, if my boys’ pants dangled occasionally around their ankles and my daughter’s socks refused to match? Who cares if I had missed the last PTA meeting—and the 17 before that? I had a pot roast on the stove, goddammit. I was good.</p>
<p>As my children grew from babies to teenagers, food became an integral, intricate part of our lives. Other families had scrapbooks and cousins, camping trips or communal prayer. We had food. Food that eventually became its own kind of ritual,elaborate and predictable as catechism. On Thanksgiving: turkey, stuffing, two kinds of potatoes, carrots, green beans, and that horrible jelled cranberry sauce my middle son refused to live without. On Christmas, it was salmon, rib roast, and cookies—four kinds, extra nuts, no exceptions. Sometimes, when calendar collisions meant that Passover, Easter and Greek Orthodox Easter, all fell at once, we mixed and matched with culinary obsession: matzo ball soup, lamb, ham, eggs and wiggly Jell-O bunnies. None of this was exactly gourmet fare. But I kept cooking and we kept eating, testifying to the only gospel that our family’s diverse ancestry seemed to share: Food equals love. Amo cookat. Amat eatat. Or something like that. If I love you, I will cook. And if you love me, you will eat.</p>
<p>My father-in-law is walking a bit slower these days. The cold bothers him and he naps more frequently than I remember. But when we picked him up at the airport last week, the suitcase was still there—one shirt, one pair of socks, two pounds of raisins, a bag of almonds, and some cheese. He is cooking. We are good. <em>—Debora Spar, Originally published on <a href="http://www.oprah.com/food/Food-Memories-Debora-Spar">Oprah.com</a></em><br /><br /><em>Photograph by Steve DeCanio</em></p>
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</div></div></div>Wed, 16 May 2012 16:23:21 +0000dstaab12157 at https://barnard.eduCornucopia of Culinary Talentshttps://barnard.edu/headlines/cornucopia-culinary-talents
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <h3><img alt="Enid Stettner, Photo by Dorothy Hong" class="image-inline_large" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_large/public/images/inline/estettnerbydhong.jpg" title="Enid Stettner, Photo by Dorothy Hong" /></h3>
<h3>Enid Ballinger Stettner ’54</h3>
<h4>Specialty-Foods Entreprenuer</h4>
<p>Entrepreneurship comes naturally to Enid Ballinger Stettner, who opened a fashion company when she was 24. Stettner launched Wild Thymes Farm in the ’80s as a specialty food company that makes distinctive condiments. Credit her with pioneering the craving for herb-flavored vinegars, her first product, using what grew in her abundant garden in upstate New York’s Hudson Valley. An art-history major at Barnard, Stettner sees her work as simply another form of creative expression. “I paint with the palate,” she says. “I’m adding color, I’m adding flavor—everything has to have a beautiful color.” Stettner’s family business has since expanded to encompass a wide variety of sauces, marinades, and salad dressings. “I had no food background,” she admits. “What I understood best was how to balance flavors. It’s just like the theatre—you project your voice. If you put something in a jar, you exaggerate the flavor to hold up in a jar.” An unabashed perfectionist who makes her own spice blends, Stettner says that to achieve the desired results, “Sometimes I use 20 different seasonings in an item.”<br /><em>Visit <a href="http://www.wildthymes.com/Default.asp">wildthymes.com</a> for more information</em></p>
<h4><img alt="Donenfeld photo by Dorothy Hong" class="image-inline_large" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_large/public/images/inline/jdonenfeldbydhong.jpg" title="Donenfeld photo by Dorothy Hong" /></h4>
<h3>Jill A. Donenfeld ’06</h3>
<h4>The Culinista</h4>
<p>Clear about what she wants to achieve in her work, Jill A. Donenfeld says, “I want to help people, to inspire people to cook together.” A Cincinnati, Ohio, native who grew up with healthy, home-cooked family dinners, she adds, “It’s people coming together through food.” Three days after graduating, she founded The Culinastas, a company that provides home-chef services for families in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. As a Barnard student majoring in urban studies, Donenfeld was fascinated by the way “restaurants and food consumption shaped the city.” For one class, she interviewed celebrity chefs such as Eric Ripert of New York’s famed Le Bernardin, and even did her thesis on the impact of Whole Foods entering the city’s market. While at Barnard, Donenfeld also contributed restaurant reviews for Time Out New York, and worked as a private chef when she was a senior. She’s also worked in restaurants and as a caterer, in addition to blogging about food and coauthoring a cookbook, Party Like a Culinista: Fresh Recipes, Bold Flavors, and Good Friends, published last fall. “I just followed my passion,” says Donenfeld.<br /><em>Visit <a href="http://theculinistas.com/">theculinistas.com</a> for more information</em></p>
<h4><img alt="Doris Friedensohn, photo by Dorothy Hong" class="image-inline_large" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_large/public/images/inline/dfriedensohnbydorothyhong.jpg" title="Doris Friedensohn, photo by Dorothy Hong" /></h4>
<h3>Doris Platzker Friedensohn ’58</h3>
<h4>Food-Service Activist</h4>
<p>Doris Friedensohn, professor emerita of women’s studies at New Jersey City University, is interested in all aspects of food: what we eat, how it’s served, and who prepares it. “Part of what fascinates me about food is how it figures in culture and illuminates aspects of human behavior,” says Friedensohn, who as a scholar explored issues of feminism, diversity, and culture. When she found her way, in retirement, to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Newark and the Food Service Training Academy, which trains low-income people for jobs in the food industry, Friedensohn was “hooked by the stories of the students I met. I was moved by people’s sense of grit and hope.” She shared many of these stories in her book, Cooking for Change: Tales From a Food Service Training Academy. “It’s important that people know these stories,” explains Friedensohn, who admired her subjects’ tenacity and resilience in the face of significant hardships. Being in the training program enables people to feel good about themselves, which might spark more efforts and achievements up the economic ladder.<br /><em>Visit <a href="http://njfoodbank.org/cookingforchange">njfoodbank.org/cookingforchange</a> for more information</em></p>
<p><img alt="Dana Jacobi and Melissa Clark, photo by Dorothy Hong" class="image-inline_large" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_large/public/images/inline/jacobiclarkbyhong.jpg" title="Dana Jacobi and Melissa Clark, photo by Dorothy Hong" /></p>
<h3>Dana Jacobi ’66 &amp; Melissa Clark ’90</h3>
<h4>Writers</h4>
<p>Writing about food in a way that inspires home cooks to turn on the oven and actually make meals is a talent that both Dana Jacobi and Melissa Clark display in their careers. Jacobi, one of the first online food writers, is the author of 10 best-selling cookbooks. A former business executive who started her food career as a caterer, she also developed her own line of food products. Corporations seek her expertise for recipes and product development. “I love the fact that there’s variety, and I’m doing something new and different,” says Jacobi, who was an art-history major at Barnard.<br />
For Melissa Clark, who started “writing restaurant reviews as a kid,” and published her first cookbook at 23, her column in <em>The New York Times</em> Dining section gives her a powerful platform for her mission. “I just wanted to help people make dinner,” says Clark. “At 6 o’clock at night, I look in the fridge and wonder what am I going to make for dinner. Spending a half hour together cooking is the best way to show people love.” Clark, a Brooklyn native who catered for Barnard and Columbia professors while studying for her MFA at Columbia, relishes her varied experiences in the food world. Besides her most recent work, <em>Cook This Now</em>, Clark, who was an English major, has written 32 other cookbooks.<br /><em>Visit <a href="http://danajacobi.com/">danajacobi.com</a> for more from Dana Jacobi<br />
Visit <a href="http://www.melissaclark.net/">melissaclark.net</a> for more from Melissa Clark</em></p>
<p><img alt="Barbara Sibley, photo by Dorothy Hong" class="image-inline_large" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_large/public/images/inline/barbarasibleybydorothyhong.jpg" title="Barbara Sibley, photo by Dorothy Hong" /></p>
<h3>Barbara Sibley ’84</h3>
<h4>Restaurant Owner</h4>
<p>Barbara Sibley opened her restaurant, La Palapa, to satisfy her desire for the authentic Mexican food she was raised on in Mexico City. “When it came to opening La Palapa, it was pure homesickness,” says Sibley. “What’s on the menu is what I’ve been craving.” She even makes her own cheese and her own chorizo, because “I want it to taste like Mexico.” An anthropology major, she’s also motivated by the desire to “translate my culture, to share it and break stereotypes.” Sibley is actively involved in the food world as a cookbook author, member of the Women Chef &amp; Restaurateurs and vice president of the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance. Concerned about food’s role in the larger community, she’s also testified in front of Congress about the need for an increase in the federal tipped minimum wage. And food has always been very much about family, from her grandmother and mother’s expert home cooking, to her hands-on cooking with her two young children. It definitely helps that La Palapa is next door to where Sibley and her husband live, given the demands of her career. “I can come home and be with my kids, can put them to bed, and then go back to the restaurant.” Working in her own restaurant is an “incredible gift,” she says. “It’s tremendous hard work and tremendous joy to share your creations with people and have instant feedback.”<br /><em>Visit <a href="http://lapalapa.com/">lapalapa.com </a>for more information</em></p>
<p><img alt="Christina Turley, photo by Jamie Thrower" class="image-inline_large" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_large/public/images/inline/cturleybyjthrower.jpg" title="Christina Turley, photo by Jamie Thrower" /></p>
<h3>Christina Turley ’06</h3>
<h4>Winery Sales Director</h4>
<p>As the director of sales for the family business, Turley Wine Cellars in the Napa Valley, Christina Turley sees her role as an “opportunity to build something, with my own kind of vision. Because we’re small and in high demand, it’s more educational than sales.” Although she came to Barnard to get away from the vintner’s world where she grew up, the lure of wine—and food—never went away. During the summers, Turley remained in the city, working as a restaurant hostess. She found herself “reading food Web sites [because] I missed being around food.” An art-history major, Turley worked at a gallery for two years before she realized that art history was an appropriate pairing with her professional work with wine. “I look at art and wine as very similar,” she says. “The more you know, the more you enjoy it. Ultimately, it’s about pleasure. My mission is to demystify [wine] and remind people that ultimately it’s pleasurable.” Turley observes that although, “the wine business is definitely male dominated, the great thing about coming from Barnard is you learn you have to stand up for yourself.”<br /><em>Visit <a href="http://turleywinecellars.com/">turleywinecellars.com</a> for more information</em></p>
<p><em>—by Merri Rosenberg ’78</em></p>
<p><em>All photographs by Dorothy Hong except Christina Turley, photographed by Jamie Thrower</em></p>
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</div></div></div>Thu, 10 May 2012 20:38:33 +0000dstaab12164 at https://barnard.eduSpring Forward with Issues & Ideashttps://barnard.edu/headlines/spring-forward-issues-ideas
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-38" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">activism</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-21" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">equality</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-18" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">gender</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-34" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">leadership</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-59" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">media</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F117405510697815010286%2Falbumid%2F5740977914489134561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="192" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="288"></embed></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This academic year has seen an array of events and experts on campus:</p>
<h4>Diane Ravitch</h4>
<p>Former assistant secretary of education, now research professor of education at NYU, Ravitch lectured to an enthusiastic crowd in The Diana Center’s Event Oval about contentious issues in contemporary education: privatizing low test-scoring public schools, and the need to keep public schools public. Lee Anne Bell, director of the education program (right in photo at left), introduced Ravitch and later joined her as she signed copies of The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Ravitch’s newest book. Sponsored by For the Public Good Project.</p>
<h4>Anita Hill</h4>
<p>How viable is the American Dream of home ownership in the wake of the current economic crisis that has seen home foreclosures soar? Anita Hill, professor of social policy, law, and women’s studies at Brandeis University and the 2012 Helen Rogers Reid Lecturer explored the notion of home as a site of social and economic security and shared ideas from her latest book, <em>Reimagining Equality: Gender, Race, and the American Dream.</em> Sponsored by the Barnard Center for Research on Women.</p>
<h4>Torchbearers</h4>
<p>An annual event, the Torchbearers reception brings together Barnard’s student achievers with the generous alumnae who help support their studies. The event thanks our donors and congratulates and encourages the students in their pursuit of excellence.</p>
<h4>Oprah winfrey &amp; Gloria Steinem</h4>
<p>Oprah Winfrey visited feminist, author, and activist Gloria Steinem on campus for an in-depth interview as a part of Oprah’s new series <em>Oprah’s Next Chapter,</em> which airs Sunday nights on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Oprah and Steinem along with 60 young women from Barnard had an open and frank discussion about everything from the current state of feminism to politics to women’s leadership.<br />
</p>
<h4>Wallace Shawn</h4>
<p>Also at the Event Oval, actor, Obie award-winning playwright, and essayist Wallace Shawn read from an expanded version of “Why I Call Myself a Socialist,” taken from his 2009 collection <em>Essays</em>. Shawn urged his listeners to challenge given roles within a society, and stressed that communities should not believe in “fantasies” that “pigeonhole people into roles that can easily be considered [their] destiny.” The Barnard Forum on Emancipation and Politics and the Office of the President sponsored the event.</p>
<h4>Kakenya Ntaiya</h4>
<p>Barnard welcomed Kenyan activist and educator Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya for the premier event in the Women in the World on Campus Speaker Series, a new initiative of Newsweek/Daily Beast and the Women in the World Foundation. Ntaiya, the president and founder of the Kakenya Center for Excellence, spoke about her personal experience obtaining an education and achieving independence against great odds.</p>
<h4>White House Economics Forum</h4>
<p>The White House Business Council, the White House Council on Women and Girls, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and Barnard College’s Athena Center for Leadership Studies hosted an Urban Economic Forum on campus to discuss the Administration’s commitment to supporting policies that create private-sector jobs and support the next generation of entrepreneurs who will not only strengthen our economy but compete globally. Barnard hosted the first of what will be a multi-city series.</p>
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</div></div></div>Thu, 10 May 2012 19:50:28 +0000dstaab12162 at https://barnard.eduCelebrating Women: The Athena Film Festival Awardshttps://barnard.edu/headlines/celebrating-women-athena-film-festival-awards
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-89" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">film</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-111" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Athena Center</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-124" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Athena Film Festival</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F117405510697815010286%2Falbumid%2F5711675714259161249%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="320" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480"></embed></p>
<p>Opening night of the second Athena Film Festival sparkled with an array of film lovers and professionals whose contributions to the medium have helped to illuminate the stories of courageous women across the world. The Athena Center for Leadership Studies and Women in Hollywood jointly produced the festival, which this year was marked by the inception of the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award named for a noted Hollywood producer and founder of Stand Up to Cancer. Ziskin died in 2011; her daughter, Julia Barry, accepted the award on her mother’s behalf. Another festival highlight was a screening of Gloria: In Her Own Words, a documentary about activist Gloria Steinem who appeared afterward in a Q&amp;A session conducted by writer-activist Amy Richards ’92.</p>
<p><a href="http://athenafilmfestival.com/"><em>Click here for more about the festival</em></a><br />
</p>
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</div></div></div>Thu, 10 May 2012 18:17:22 +0000dstaab12160 at https://barnard.eduAfricana Studies program celebrates its 20th anniversaryhttps://barnard.edu/headlines/africana-studies-program-celebrates-its-20th-anniversary
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-134" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africana Studies</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-79" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">diversity</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics/race-and-ethnicity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">race and ethnicity</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-18" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">gender</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-53" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africa</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><img alt="Kim Hall, photo by Dorothy Hong" class="image-inline_small" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_small/public/images/inline/kimhallbydorothyhong.jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0;" title="Kim Hall, photo by Dorothy Hong" />Barnard’s Africana studies program, the multidisciplinary study of Africa and the Black Diaspora, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and recently joined the American studies and women’s, gender and sexuality studies departments to make up the Consortium for Critical Interdisciplinary Studies (CCIS), a collaborative exploration of race and ethnicity, along with gender, class, and nation.</p>
<p>After Kim F. Hall, professor of English, who holds the Lucyle Hook Chair, and professor of Africana studies, came to Barnard in 2006 with a mandate to strengthen the multifaceted program, she worked together with former provost and dean of faculty Elizabeth S. Boylan to do a cluster hire—bringing in tenured faculty who would strengthen the Africana studies program and make a lasting impact on the College.</p>
<p>The three new faculty members—Professor Tina Campt, who took over from Hall as director of Africana studies, Professor Yvette Christiansë, and Associate Professor Celia E. Naylor—arrived at Barnard in the fall of 2010. In addition to being renowned scholars and dedicated teachers, they have established new courses of study not previously part of the curriculum.</p>
<p>Although her career in academics had taken Hall to several prestigious institutions—University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, Georgetown University, and Fordham University—she had always wanted to teach at a women’s college because she attended one as an undergraduate. Her academic focus includes black feminism, critical race theory, slavery and depictions of race in literature. She is currently working on a book about the sugar trade in seventeenth-century England from the perspective of literary analysis. “Barnard students are phenomenal,” says Hall, who also teaches courses in women’s, gender and sexuality studies. “The Africana students are so hungry for an interdisciplinary and transnational approach to their education. They bring spark to the classes.</p>
<p>When Hall joined the Barnard faculty, the College was looking for a sense of direction for Africana studies. Because it is a program and not a department, faculty members were often doing a delicate balancing act between their roles in Africana studies and the departments through which they had or sought tenure. “There seemed to be an agreement that we needed more tenured faculty and more faculty who had contractual responsibilities to Africana studies,” Hall says. “The year I got here Liz Boylan started that process by writing into faculty contracts that there would be some teaching responsibility for Africana studies where applicable.”</p>
<p>Hall wrote the proposal for the cluster hire. Professor Janet Jakobsen, director of the Barnard Center for Research on Women, reconfigured the Difficult Dialogues Faculty Development Seminar to focus on Africana gender studies. This provided the funds and space to identify potential candidates and informally bring them to campus.</p>
<p>The fields of the three new instructors complement each other and work well with the existing teaching staff. Women’s, gender and sexuality studies, history and English—the tenure homes for the three—participated in the hiring process. It was vitally important to Hall that each had a genuine passion for teaching undergraduates. “We have a really vibrant community [as well as] people who are working together and willing to get behind a vision for Africana studies. In terms of gender and African Diaspora, we now have pretty much the strongest faculty in the country,” affirms Hall.</p>
<p><img alt="" class="image-inline_small" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_small/public/images/inline/tinacamptbydorothyhong.jpg" style="float:right;margin:0 0 1em 1em;" title="" />During her interview with Barnard President Debora Spar, Tina Campt told a story about her first time on the campus nearly three decades earlier. “I applied to Barnard and got in. It was my top choice,” she says. “I came for the prospectives weekend. I walked into Barnard Hall and I burst into tears because I thought this was too big a city. I ended up calling my godmother who lived in Queens and saying, ‘Come and get me.’”</p>
<p>Campt opted for Vassar and then earned a master’s and doctorate in history from Cornell University. Before coming to Barnard, she taught at Duke University, the University of California Santa Cruz, and the Technical University of Berlin. Although her training is in history, she has always taught in interdisciplinary programs. Today, she takes great delight in the fact that her office is on the second floor of Barnard Hall overlooking those once intimidating front gates.</p>
<p>Campt participated in the Difficult Dialogues seminar and discussed the research that informs her new book, <em>Image Matters: Archive, Photography and the African Diaspora in Europe</em>, which centers on family photography of black Europeans in the first half of the twentieth century. “That was my first experience sitting around the table with art historians, religious-studies scholars, African Diaspora scholars, American-studies scholars and gender scholars all together,” she recalls. “Among liberal-arts colleges, Barnard is leading the way in trying to cultivate scholarship and scholarly communities that are not just within departments, but that give the liberal-arts education a different way of reaching and training students.”</p>
<p>She loves the curiosity and creativity of Barnard students and embraces the challenge of explaining why something is not only important but also relevant. Most of her courses involve gender and the African Diaspora. Campt finds the faculty interaction of CCIS incredibly enlightening. “We get to combine our research strengths with our teaching in a way that allows us to collaborate with other scholars and learn from them,” Campt says.</p>
<p>Associate Professor of History Celia E. Naylor is a historian whose courses include “Introduction to African-American History,” “Black Feminism(s)/Womanism(s) and ‘Black Sexual Politics’ in Contemporary U.S. Popular Culture,” and “Introduction to the African Diaspora.” She authored the book <em>African Cherokees in Indian Territory: From Chattel to Citizens</em>.</p>
<p><img alt="Celia Naylor, photo by Dorothy Hong" class="image-inline_small" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_small/public/images/inline/celianaylorbydorothyhong.jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0;" title="Celia Naylor, photo by Dorothy Hong" />Naylor started her undergraduate studies at Cornell University wanting to be the first African-American female astronaut, but Dr. Mae Jemison occupied that position, and Naylor shifted her passion to focus on African-American history. A master’s degree in Afro-American studies at UCLA and a master’s and doctorate in history at Duke University followed.</p>
<p>Before arriving at Morningside Heights, she taught at Dartmouth College for eight years. (She is excited for her 11-year-old daughter to experience life in an urban setting.) Naylor credits Hall and her vision for the future of Africana studies at Barnard for the inspiration to apply for the position. “I think it really interesting and innovative that Africana studies incorporates so many different disciplines,” says Naylor. “It’s exciting to think about how these students are getting not only a foundation that incorporates race, gender, class, and sexuality, but also really tangible, palpable illustrations and understandings of the complexities and nuances of these issues.”</p>
<p>She also likes to watch the awakening to ideas that takes place in her introductory course. “Whenever we start talking about the narrative of history—who’s included, who’s excluded, and the reasons why—you often see students reflecting on what they thought they should have known,” says Naylor, who encourages her students to be engaged in the Harlem community.</p>
<p>The interaction with other faculty in CCIS has helped Naylor explore ideologies and concepts from new perspectives. “It’s almost like every morning I wake up and think, ‘Am I really here?’” she says. “Being able to interact with young women who are excited, who are interesting, who are really engaged in the classroom experience, but also interested in looking beyond the gates of Barnard and seeing what New York City has to offer, and even more broadly, the world: It’s wonderful.”</p>
<p>Professor of English and Africana Studies Yvette Christiansë brought to Barnard subjects beyond the sphere of influence of Europe and the Americas, which Hall felt was lacking. Born in South Africa during apartheid and educated at the University of Sydney, Christiansë is an award-winning author of poetry and fiction. She has taught at prestigious universities in the United States, including Princeton and Fordham, and in South Africa. “I love the size of Barnard. I love the commitment to the students,” says Christiansë. “That’s what I find joyous.</p>
<p>“We’ve been able to develop absolutely cutting-edge curricula for the students, particularly in the global context,” she adds. “The kind of international programs that we’re encouraged to do are just breathtaking.” This spring semester, Christiansë is co-teaching the interdisciplinary course “Africana Issues: Narrating Indian Ocean Africa” with Professor Isabel Hofmeyr of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. The two classrooms are connected via live-stream video technology and the students are encouraged to not only interact, but also blog about their experiences. <a href="https://barnard.edu/headlines/intercontinental-course-offers-collaborative-experience-students-faculty"><em>Read more about Christiansë's intercontinental course</em></a>.</p>
<p><img alt="Yvette Christianse photo by Dorothy Hong" class="image-inline_small" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_small/public/images/inline/yvettechistiansebydorothyhong.jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0;" title="Yvette Christianse photo by Dorothy Hong" />“We’re looking at what I think is an often neglected part of post-colonial studies, that is to consider that long tradition of globalism in the Indian Ocean,” Christiansë says. “We’re looking at the labor movements and the history of slavery in that area.</p>
<p>“The students are connecting with each other via this fantastic possibility of immediate electronic conversation. We had hoped to eventually establish a Web site based on their research, which they will hand off to the next students, but it’s difficult logistically, so that’s on hold for now.”</p>
<p>Christiansë appreciates the feedback that CCIS brings in terms of new perspectives, which she then brings to her teaching. “All of the affiliate programs still have their distinct identities, but we draw on each other’s skills,” she notes. “We really have formulated new core courses.”</p>
<p>She aims to bring to Africana studies new outreach initiatives, such as one with the Museum for African Art currently in Long Island City. She also hopes to present the work of young Soweto-born composer Neo Muyanga as a learning expression. Christiansë utilizes elements of pop culture in her teaching—such as references to rap music and how much of it contains historical references.</p>
<p>“The students learn and I learn,” sums up the professor. <em>—by Lois Elfman ’80</em></p>
<p><em>Photographs by Dorothy Hong</em></p>
<p> </p>
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</div></div></div>Thu, 10 May 2012 17:17:17 +0000dstaab12159 at https://barnard.eduSpring 2012 Lettershttps://barnard.edu/headlines/spring-2012-letters
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <h4><img alt="Winter 2012 Cover, Photo by Courtney Apple" class="image-inline_small" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_small/public/images/inline/winter2012cover.jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0;" title="Winter 2012 Cover, Photo by Courtney Apple" />Big Ideas</h4>
<p>Bravo, President Spar, for your courageous and wise essay “In Search of Prophets” [Winter 2012, President’s Page]. Fifty years ago I came to Barnard as a virtually penniless immigrant from Germany. As a sociology major I read Keynes in Professor Lekachman’s economic history class; Locke and Rousseau with Professor Stanley Moore in social philosophy; and Marx and Engels with Professor Mirra Komarovsky in sociological theories. How awed I was with great ideas! They laid the foundation for my further study.... [And] when I participated in the civil-rights movement, the anti-war struggle, and in social justice causes, I was armed with a historical and theoretical perspective. Whatever guidance I was able to give my own students over 40 years of teaching sociology was ultimately grounded in what I first learned at Barnard College. For this I will always be grateful.</p>
<p align="right"><em>—Britta Fischer ’64<br />
Professor of Sociology Emerita<br />
Emmanuel College</em><br /><em>Boston, Mass.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<h4>Around the Campfire</h4>
<p>I was delighted to see the article about Barnard Camp in the Winter 2012 edition. I was also stunned to see the (ancient) photo of myself waxing my skis. It must have been taken around 1946-47. Unfortunately I am unsure of the identity of the other person in the picture… I am however a bit bewildered by the caption, which says “Stefanie Zink Dobrin ’47 and stepdaughter Susan Dobrin Spevak ’67…” My stepdaughter was indeed ’67, but she was only born in April 1945 and would have been about a year old when the photo was taken! Barnard Camp was a wonderful, bucolic refuge for us urbanites. I went to the camp as often as I could. </p>
<p align="right"><em>—Stefanie Zink Dobrin ’47<br />
Altadena, Calif.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Regarding the Barnard Camp article in the Winter 2012 issue, photo 3 on page 23 was taken October 13, 1946. The girl on the far right is Pat Cecere Doumas ’49. Next to her is Jean DeSanto MacLaren ’49. On the far left, in the skirt, is myself, Judith Allison ’49. I have several photos taken that day. It was the only time I was at the camp, and I enjoyed myself very much!</p>
<p align="right"><em>—Judith Allison Walters ’49<br />
Bothell, Wash.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Editors’ reply: Thanks to our vigilant alumnae, the captions on the photos of Barnard Camp from the College Archives have been corrected and updated. Photo 2 on page 23 of the Winter 2012 should have been captioned Marian Gulton Malcolm ’50 and Stefanie Zink Dobrin ’47. We regret the error and thank you for the information.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The article on Holly House brought back memories of a weekend in January 1979. My friends and I arrived Friday evening. We probably should have expected that the house would be absolutely freezing inside! We got a fire going in the main room, pinned up blankets over the windows for insulation and then dragged mattresses into the main room so that we could all sleep there that night.</p>
<p>Saturday we went skating. For some in the group, it was their first time on blades. When I returned from spending winter break at my mother’s house, I had brought as many spare pairs of skates as I could lay my hands on back to Barnard. We did the best we could to find a pair of skates to fit each person. Fortunately, my family runs to large feet, so some of the “outgrown” skates from Mom’s turned out to be just right for our group.</p>
<p>Saturday night the temperature rose sharply and it started raining. One of our group had a car, and she was supposed to drive us all back to Barnard on Sunday. When we attempted to head south, however, we found the roads were closed due to flooding. We kept moving east to find the next southbound road. We’d get a bit further, hit another road closure and move east again. Finally, we rotated so far to the southeast that we hit the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut, and the Merritt got us home. I’m not sure what we would have done otherwise—maybe tried to float the car up Long Island Sound?</p>
<p align="right"><em>—SarahRose Werner ’79<br />
St. John, Newfoundland, Canada</em></p>
<p> </p>
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</div></div></div>Thu, 10 May 2012 16:44:52 +0000dstaab12158 at https://barnard.eduHome, Equality, & The American Dreamhttps://barnard.edu/headlines/home-equality-american-dream
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-79" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">diversity</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-99" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economics</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-21" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">equality</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-18" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">gender</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics/united-states-america" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">United States of America</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><img alt="Illustration by Ellen Weinstein" class="image-inline_small" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_small/public/images/inline/anitahill.illobyellenweinstein.jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0;" title="Illustration by Ellen Weinstein" />Establishing or owning a home is, arguably, the single most important part of the American Dream. Yet in recent years, the housing and mortgage crises that have fed the larger financial crisis have placed Americans’ struggles to maintain a home in stark relief. In today’s America having a home is far from a guarantee—the opportunity is not available to everybody.</p>
<p>As a result of the subprime-mortgage meltdown, at the end of 2011, about 11.1 million of all U.S. residential properties with a mortgage were underwater, according to data from CoreLogic, and the total outstanding debt on those residential properties stood at $2.8 trillion. “There is more to today’s problems than just the moment that we are experiencing in time,” Anita Hill has said.</p>
<p>On February 27, 2012, Hill visited the campus to deliver the annual Helen Rogers Reid Lecture presented by the Barnard Center for Research on Women. The theme of her hour-long address was the subject of her book, <em>Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race, and Finding Home. </em>The lecture, inaugurated in 1975, honors women in public life who have “shown significant commitment to improving the lives of all women,” noted Professor Elizabeth Castelli, acting director of the center, in her introduction. Moments later, as she stood before a crowd of nearly 200 people in The Diana Center, Hill stated, “I do believe I am a person who has paid some attention to women’s issues, so I do qualify for this lecture.” It was the first glimpse of Hill’s humor, ease, and optimism.</p>
<p>It would be wrong to assume that Hill’s interest in women’s issues stems from the 1991 Senate confirmation hearings for then Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. Her testimony at that time not only made her a household name, it also sparked a national conversation and debate about women and sexual harassment in the workplace. A long and proud family history has informed much of what Hill has done as a scholar, writer, speaker, and as an advocate for gender and racial equality.</p>
<p>A large family (Hill is the youngest of 13) and its role in her life are central to Reimagining Equality. The author and Brandeis University professor frames her view of home and its role in defining equality with a look back at her own family history on her mother’s side. “T.S. Eliot has said, ‘Home is where one starts from,’ so I began my writing <em>Reimagining Equality</em> with my own family history,” she explained.</p>
<p>In the book and the lecture, Hill introduced her grandfather, William Henry Elliott, and his life post-slavery, when he went from being property to owning property. Born in 1864, William Henry, as a free man, came to homestead 80 acres of land in Little Rock County, Arkansas; the property became the foundation of his life and livelihood. As such, Hill explained, the law worked for William Henry Elliott. His name was on the title to the land, which contained no reference to his wife, Ida Elliott. Ida raised seven children with William Henry in a two-room cabin while working on their farm. Yet she was denied the right to put her name on the title. “I realized, when I started looking at this whole system of ownership and having that place where we could begin to build our dreams, a place we could use to support ourselves, that there were problems not only of racial denial, but there were problems with a system that denied women,” said Hill.</p>
<p>The Elliotts ultimately lost their farm and land, and in 1915 they moved to Oklahoma to start a new life. Bad debt agreements, threats of violence and actual violence directed at William Henry, apparent government indifference to this plight, and no real safety net for people who came upon hard economic times contributed to the decision to move. Painful as it was, Hill’s grandparents had the courage “to move to a new place where they could imagine a new life for their children and their grandchildren.”</p>
<p>William Henry and Ida Elliott are among the many precedents Hill touched on in approaching the current housing crisis in America and the inequality and imbalance that persist in Americans’ access to and rights in establishing a home. In the recent crisis many of the same issues exist, Hill pointed out, “of racism, of devaluing of women, of the failure of the law to protect people’s rights, the failure of the law to provide a safety net.”</p>
<p>One quality more than any other emerged from Anita Hill’s address: optimism. As she recounted a family history of struggles and hardship, and described a present-day crisis confronting Americans that by most measures offers little hope, Hill challenged the audience to reimagine what home means, and in so doing, reimagine our lives and equality for everyone. Hill’s belief in the power of doing this, came largely from her mother, Erma Elliott Hill.</p>
<p>“[My mother] believed that you don’t build a vision of your life on your current circumstances, but you build a vision of your life, and even of your children’s lives, on what you can imagine for them in the future and prepare for that, and prepare them for that.”</p>
<p>Belief in one’s ability to reimagine a life and to work towards greater equality, to establish homes and communities, and hope for better times, has been strengthened by Hill’s own life over the past two decades since the Senate hearings of 1991.</p>
<p>“I’m optimistic because I know that we can move things, we can change things if we are engaged and if we are responding to the things that we need to respond to. I don’t have to go 100 years back to get to that point. Twenty years ago … there was my testimony [before the Senate]. And I thank all of you who were my supporters and I thank every one of you who believed in me, because you … spoke out.</p>
<p>“You did not remain silent about what really matters. And that’s why I am hopeful, that’s why I believe, that’s why I’m optimistic. Because I’ve seen change occur in my lifetime, but I know that it only occurs when people invest, and speak out, and make known their needs, and their desire for a better America.” <em>—by Dimitra Kessenides ’89</em></p>
<p><em>Illustration by Ellen Weinstein</em></p>
<p> </p>
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</div></div></div>Thu, 10 May 2012 16:14:00 +0000dstaab12155 at https://barnard.eduChange They Can Believe In?https://barnard.edu/headlines/change-they-can-believe
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-10" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">global</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-58" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Middle East</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-4" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">politics</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><img alt="Ido Aharoni, photo by Asiya Khaki" class="image-inline_large" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_large/public/images/inline/idoaharoni.jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0;" title="" />Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel in New York, an imposing figure in a serious gray suit, sauntered onto the stage of the Event Oval at The Diana Center and smiled. Before he began his far-ranging lecture, “Israel &amp; Its Neighbors,” about Israel’s quest for peace amid raging regional changes, he asked a question. “Hands up if you know who Ido was?” he demanded, with a discernible twinkle in his eye. “Ido of the Bible was a seer, not a prophet. A seer is an unsuccessful prophet, so take everything I say today with a grain of salt.” The audience chuckled. The crowd included a sprinkling of alumnae of every age group and a sizeable contingent of students who participate in one of the four Israel groups at Barnard-Columbia and who came despite the crush of midterms.</p>
<p>The consul called this a pivotal moment in Israel’s history, but stressed that it’s not the first. “If you google the phrase, ‘Israel at crossroads,’” he said, “you’ll find multiple references from the 1940s through today. Yet, here we are again with Israel at a crossroads. I can’t tell you how many challenges Israel is facing today.”</p>
<p>Israeli views toward negotiations with the Palestinians shifted sharply 12 years ago, according to Aharoni. At the time, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasir Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak failed to agree on a two-state plan proposed at Camp David by then President Bill Clinton. “It was an ambitious, far-reaching plan for both sides to consider,” said Aharoni. “And despite the fact that he was taking a considerable risk, Prime Minister Ehud Barak said yes to 97 percent of the territorial concessions. The Palestinians, headed by Arafat said, no.”</p>
<p>“Shortly thereafter,” he continued, “the Palestinians waged war ... known as the Second Intifada.... [and] made a strategic decision to target Israeli citizens.” Aharoni explained that in reaction to the sharp increase in suicide attacks against civilians earlier in this century, the Israeli government developed several strategies. The tactics included building the controversial security fence between Israel and the West Bank, and disengaging from Gaza. Aharoni said that Israel told the Palestinians: “Your dream is a reality. Here’s Gaza. Turn it into an oasis.” Instead, Gaza served as a launching pad for attacks on Israel.</p>
<p>This response, coupled with the Palestinian rejection of Clinton’s proposal in 2000 and the rejection of another peace proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2008, “had a profound psychological effect on Israel,” according to Aharoni. “Israelis care deeply about peace, but with the current Palestinian leadership, there is no deal,” he said. “It would be accurate to say that the majority of Israelis believe that the unfinished business between Israelis and Palestinians is not the Six-Day War. The unfinished business is the 1948 war. It’s not a war about land; it’s a war about the right to exist.”</p>
<p>Aharoni dived into the second subject of the evening: the sweeping political transformations of many Arab neighbors. “The media has defined it as an Arab Spring,” said Aharoni. “I feel very uncomfortable with that term. It implies that it’s seasonal, and I’m not so sure. I’m fairly confident that we’re looking at a majorpolitical shift.”</p>
<p>The revolutions need to be assessed on a country-by-country basis, he asserted. In Egypt, where the median age is young and the illiteracy rate is fairly high, “we are looking at deeper problems than elections,” he said.</p>
<p>On the possibility of a nuclear Iran, and the Israeli strategy to prevent that scenario, he commented, “You don’t need a PhD in psychology to understand Ahmadinejad. He means what he says. And this is what he says: ‘Israel should be wiped off the map.’”</p>
<p>“So, I ask the world: What will happen if Iran acquires nuclear capabilities?” he queried in a bracing tone. “One thing is for sure. It will inspire a nuclear arms race, and some will end up in terrorist hands.” A nuclear Iran, contended Aharoni, would “pose a threat to everything we value.” Aharoni grew even more animated, asserting, “It’s not Iran versus Israel. It is Iran versus the West.”</p>
<p><em>—by Elicia Brown ’90</em></p>
<p><em>Photograph by Asiya Khaki</em></p>
<p> </p>
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</div></div></div>Thu, 10 May 2012 14:59:37 +0000dstaab12152 at https://barnard.eduDateline: Mumbaihttps://barnard.edu/headlines/dateline-mumbai
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-38" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">activism</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-111" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Athena Center</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-122" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">fellowships</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-19" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">feminism</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-10" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">global</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-34" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">leadership</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F117405510697815010286%2Falbumid%2F5740964428974748001%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCPexj4e3ru_-JQ%26hl%3Den_US" height="192" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="288"></embed></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How can we not be here?” asked Barnard president Debora Spar as she opened the Fourth Annual Global Symposium, <em>Women Changing India,</em> sponsored exclusively by Credit Suisse in March. “This is one of the most important countries on the planet, and is driven in large part by women.” Spar continued, “Women are critical stakeholders in India—they are leaders in their communities, in economic development, in activist movements, in corporate board rooms—their influence is really at the heart of everything happening here.”I believe that if you’re not willing to embrace failure, you’re not going to be able to take the risks that you need to take to maximize your own potential and the potential of the people around you.</p>
<p>The symposium’s goal of greater understanding of how women’s leadership works in different cultures was explored through three panels during the daylong event. Distinguished panelists tackled key topics such as women’s leadership in social activist efforts, media and arts, and business and government. Women drawn from these fields included Kiran Bedi, India’s first and highest ranking woman police officer; Shaheen Mistri, founder of Teach for India; CNN international correspondent Mallika Kapur; Shaina NC, politician and fashion designer; actress and activist Nandita Das; and Vedika Bhandarkar, managing director and vice-chair of Credit Suisse India.</p>
<p>As the symposia have evolved, increasing attention has been directed to developing women leaders of the future on both regional and world stages. Beginning with last year’s symposium in Johannesburg, events were scheduled for Barnard’s Global Fellows (there were six in Mumbai), students who expressly apply to a selection committee for the honorific months before the symposium takes place.</p>
<p>On March 15, more than 80 high school students from around Mumbai gathered at the Cathedral and John Connon School to take part in Barnard College’s 2012 Young Women’s Leadership Workshop. The event featured a plenary address by Riya Bhattacharya, a research analyst from Credit Suisse in India, who stressed the importance of financial literacy for young women. Participants also heard from President Spar and Professor Kathryn Kolbert, the Constance Hess Williams Director of Barnard’s Athena Center for Leadership Studies. Ann Dachs, a senior admissions officer and director of Barnard’s Pre-College Programs, talked about the value of a liberal-arts education.</p>
<h4>It just makes a lot of business sense to have a good proportion of senior women; because you do get different perspectives. You get the mixture of the EQ and the IQ. You get a more balanced work culture. So, it’s not just a corporate responsibility. It is also very good business sense.<br />
Vedika Bhandarkar<br />
Managing Director &amp; Vice Chair, Credit Suisse India</h4>
<p>Student fellows led small group workshops to help participants explore leadership and develop collaboration and negotiation skills. The curriculum, “Perspectives on Leadership,” incorporated a role-playing exercise where the students were encouraged to consider an eminent domain scenario set in a fictional Mumbai slum. A redevelopment plan would bring in foreign investment and help establish the city as a leading global center, but would also have significant humanitarian, environmental, and health impacts. The students talked through the clashing perspectives and interests associated with this issue.</p>
<p>“[They] were extremely well-versed in the concept of slum-renewal,” said Jung Hee Hyun ’13, one of the Barnard fellows. “Their arguments were insightful and they were able to engage in lively, collaborative discussions about very complex issues.... I learned more from them than anything.” Neharah Gill ’13 agreed, noting how the students embraced the role-playing experience, “One young woman told me, ‘We’re always blaming the government, but now coming from the perspective of the government, we see how difficult it is to come up with solid solutions.’”</p>
<p>Other aspects of leadership emerged. “The most memorable moment for me was witnessing firsthand a shift in how the students defined leadership,” said Sara Lederman ’12. At first, the high school students talked about presumed strengths among leaders, such as being bold, outspoken, and confident. But later debriefing the exercise, one of the quieter students in the group admitted that she didn’t feel like a “leader” during the workshop because she was less vocal. Another reassured her that listening and letting others speak is an equally powerful leadership attribute. “It was incredible to actually see that message click,” recalled Lederman.</p>
<p>Jordan Borgman ’13 added, “Leadership is not about gaining accolades for yourself; it is about being an advocate for others, while also helping them find their own voice.”</p>
<p>The experience in Mumbai also made Borgman more aware of what she’s learning at Barnard about being part of a community where women are respected, and about believing in the value of her own thoughts and opinions. “Before I thought of Barnard as an academic experience, now I realize that it is actually a deeply personal one,” said Borgman. <em>—by Alyssa Vine</em></p>
<p><a href="http://headlines/women-changing-india"><em>Click here to watch videos from the global symposium </em></a></p>
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</div></div></div>Wed, 09 May 2012 19:39:09 +0000dstaab12144 at https://barnard.eduGlobal Fellows in Sanglihttps://barnard.edu/node/12142
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-38" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">activism</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-75" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">theater</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-10" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">global</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-137" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">sex</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><img alt="VAMP activists in performance" class="image-inline_medium" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_medium/public/images/inline/vamp2.jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0;" title="VAMP activists in performance" />The impulse to produce a play is an important one. It is a crucial stage of cooperative and creative ownership of one’s own narratives. For a collective of sex workers in Sangli, a rural community on the border of India’s Maharashtra province, this impulse has become a critical part of organizing and advocating for their rights. <em>Veshya AIDS Mukabala Parishad</em>, meaning “Sex Workers Free From Injustice” and known as VAMP, is a subset of SANGRAM, an organization fighting the AIDS epidemic in India by empowering sex workers, rural women and girls, women widowed by the disease, and other marginalized groups. Personal agency has been a rallying cry around much of VAMP’s work, and theatre is one means of expression that its members have embraced.</p>
<p>In March, I visited Sangli with Catherine Sameh, the associate director of the Barnard Center for Research on Women, and Barnard’s six Global Symposium Student Fellows. We were accompanied by Sushama Deshpande, a well-known professional of the Marathi stage, who directed VAMP’s most recent play, “<em>Hum Aur Tum Sab</em>” (Us and You All). During our day-long visit we had the opportunity to watch the performance, speak with members of VAMP, and also visit their <em>galli</em>, or street, where they live and work.</p>
<p>In the 1990s, when the AIDS crisis was imminent in India, five sex workers banded together to form VAMP at the urging of grassroots activist Meena Seshu, who now runs SANGRAM. Since then, the collective has grown impressively, setting up extensive condom distribution networks, district-wide door–to-door awareness campaigns, access to medical care for the infected, and HIV/AIDS testing facilities. After nearly two decades at work, positive cases among the local population have dropped from an estimated ten percent down to less than two percent. Vamp has also managed to implement certain stipulations within its district: girls must be 18 or older to enter the profession, no middlemen take cuts, and sex workers directly negotiate their terms of engagements.</p>
<p>In recent years, theatre has become another aspect of VAMP’s efforts to educate and empower. Previous productions were performed in Marathi, but the play we watched was deliberately in Hindi, the national language. It recounts the history of VAMP, from its formation in 1996 to its present day challenges of growing its membership and organizing the informal sector of sex workers.</p>
<p><em>Hum Aur Tum Sab </em>is episodic, stylistically simple, and direct. Various characters slip in and out of the narrator role, weaving a chronological story. The sets are minimal, portable and symbolic, with the colorful, painted doorways serving as the crucial gateway between the public and the private world. We are seldom taken inside into the depths of this personal space. We see only the sex workers retreat into it – mostly in times of distress - and remerge with redoubled numbers. Rhythms of communal life are apparent: card-playing becomes a marker of relaxed leisurely sisterhood. The actors often sit in circular formation, exchanging stories amongst themselves as much as with the audience. With a background score of Hindi film songs lending the lushness of old Bollywood, the overall mood of the piece is joyous and celebratory, a paean to VAMP’s unapologetic and deserved pride in its own history.</p>
<p><img alt="Performers with Global Fellows and Professor Mitra holding her daughter, Sophina" class="image-inline_medium" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_medium/public/images/inline/vamp7.jpg" style="float:right;margin:0 0 1em 1em;" title="Performers with Global Fellows and Professor Mitra holding her daughter, Sophina." /><em>Hum Aur Tum Sab </em>amply and ably conveys the disturbing aspects of VAMP’s saga, too. They angrily recount constant police brutality, violence of clients, the stigmatization of their children in schools, and their invisibility in the spectrum of electoral politics. The male roles in the piece are played by men who are the children of sex workers and now volunteer their time at VAMP. They acknowledge their deep discomfort in performing mostly negative roles of abusive men in various capacities of power. Personal stories of rape, family rejection, and coercion to prostitution are woven into the larger narrative. But again and again we are returned to the larger and more beneficial story of mass organization.</p>
<p>Members of VAMP aspire to tour their play in prominent venues throughout India and beyond. The more mainstream an audience <em>Hum Aur Tum Sab </em>reaches, the more their side of the story will be heard. And the more members they can retain in VAMP, the better they will be able to regulate their chosen profession. While prostitution itself is still illegal in India, VAMP and its cohorts thus continue to negotiate a complex terrain of local policy, social persecution and economic compulsion to demonstrate remarkable political will to mobilization. <em>—by Shayoni Mitra, assistant professor in theatre</em></p>
<p><em>Photographs by Shilpa Guha ’12 and Shayoni Mitra</em></p>
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</div></div></div>Wed, 09 May 2012 19:31:41 +0000dstaab12142 at https://barnard.eduOn Top of the Worldhttps://barnard.edu/headlines/top-world
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-38" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">activism</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-15" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">environment</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-14" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">sustainability</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-10" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">global</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-43" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">student</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><img alt="Tsechu Dolma ’14, Photograph by Dorothy Hong" class="image-inline_large" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_large/public/images/inline/dolmabyhong.jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0;" title="Tsechu Dolma ’14, Photograph by Dorothy Hong" />For Tsechu Dolma ’14, the simple question of “where are you from” would elicit a complicated answer. She came from Tibet, which has had a tumultuous political relationship with China ever since its annexation by the Chinese Communist Party in the early ’50s. Dolma’s mother, who has been a Tibetan community leader and activist, and her family were eventually exiled for political dissent when Dolma was 5. They spent the next 10 years in Nepal and India before finally moving to the United States. Influenced by her unusual past and education, Dolma has been an active leader in the fight to give the deprived and ignored local residents of environmentally delicate areas power and control over their own environments.</p>
<p>Before coming to Barnard, Dolma attended a progressive high school with a curriculum centered on environmental stewardship, sustainability, nonviolence, and advocacy. She soon realized, “When you connect with your environment, you begin to feel responsible toward it, then this sense of responsibility gets broadened to your community members and that inspires you to become an advocate for your community.”</p>
<p>Shortly after Dolma came to the Morningside campus, she went to Ecuador to work on digital education related to environmental issues. Last summer, as an East Asian studies and environmental policy double major, she interned as a research assistant at the Office of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India, and studied the social aspects of environmental degradation on the indigenous people of Himalayan communities. “My interest is expanding community rights over natural resources, a problem mostly encountered by the indigenous people, whether in Tibet or Ecuador or anywhere else,” says Dolma. Last spring, she and a dozen Tibetan graduate students started a new club on campus called Plateau Engage, whose goal is to foster deeper understandings and directly support initiatives “in and of Tibet.” “Most of the policies are made by central governments very far removed from the local situation,” she notes. “I believe the local people, who know their community, should have agency and rights over [what decisions are being made about] their region.” Plateau Engage will run a waste-management project this summer in Tibet where modernization efforts and increasing tourism have resulted in a massive amount of garbage that Tibetans do not yet have the knowledge or equipment to process.</p>
<p>“It’s the first time Tibetans are dealing with things like TVs and batteries, and they don’t know that there are things that should not enter the water supply,” Dolma says. The Tibetan plateau’s environment is the source of water for several major rivers in Asia including the Indus and the Yangtze Rivers, and the plateau’s pollution would be disastrous for the local residents and the billions of people living downstream. “They have done nothing with the garbage yet, especially in the remote, difficult to access areas,” says Dolma, recalling a photos in which piles of trash stood in stark contrast to the beautiful mountains in the distance.</p>
<p>With support from faculty and researchers, Dolma and a teammate will travel to a Tibetan village in Sichuan, China, to provide basic information on waste management. Her plan materialized in Professor Diane Dittrick’s course “Environmental Leadership, Ethics, and Action” (ELEA), which encourages students to take the leadership skills and topical expertise developed in class to a larger local, national, or global arena. Dolma, whom Dittrick calls a “poster child” for the course, will lead informal and interactive youth development workshops to empower local young people to become leaders of their own communities and continue this work.</p>
<p>“An important thing about being a leader is not imposing your values on other people.... You need to observe, listen, speak, and then act,” says Dolma. “I believe my role is not to lead anyone, but to give people the resources so they can become leaders instead.” <em>—by Xinyi Lin ’14</em></p>
<p><em>Photograph by Dorothy Hong</em></p>
<p> </p>
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</div></div></div>Tue, 08 May 2012 22:16:16 +0000dstaab12136 at https://barnard.eduKeeping Public Schools Publichttps://barnard.edu/headlines/keeping-public-schools-public
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-36" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">education</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-4" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">politics</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-91" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">youth</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><img alt="Illustration by Jonathan Bartlett" class="image-inline_large" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_large/public/images/inline/bartlett.publicschl.illo_.jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0;" title="Illustration by Jonathan Bartlett" />On February 24, the New York City Department of Education released data pertaining to public-school teacher evaluations. News outlets such as the New York Post and NY1 published this performance data for 12,170 fourth- through eighth-grade English and math teachers.</p>
<p>Intense debate quickly arose—with parents calling for the termination of low-scoring teachers, teachers asserting that the data was inaccurate, and even presidential candidates weighing in with their views. Similar debates have arisen around the country as increased emphasis has been placed on standardized testing and blame for this country’s diminished position as an international leader in education has largely been placed on teachers</p>
<p>Three days prior to the release of the New York data, Diane Ravitch, former assistant secretary of education under President George H.W. Bush and now a research professor of education at New York University, provided insight into the issues. The lecture “Is Public School a Public Good or a Shoestore?” was an event in the Public Good series, a multi-year, interdisciplinary project at the College.</p>
<p>Ravitch is the author of several books about education, the most recent being her 2010 work <em>The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education.</em> Once a staunch advocate of programs like No Child Left Behind, she now speaks out against the trend of turning underperforming public schools over to private management, which she said is supported by major foundations, the U.S. Department of Education, a significant number of hedge-fund managers on Wall Street, and various billionaires.</p>
<p>“They’re treating public schools like shoe stores. They’re treating test scores in public schools like profits and losses,” Ravitch told the capacity audience at The Diana Center’s Event Oval. “If they don’t make a profit, their employees are no good,” she continued. “But public schools are not shoe stores. They are essential public services. The obligations of the officials—especially those that are in charge of the schools—are to give the [public schools] the help they need to improve. But we’re in this weird period where the people who are in charge take no responsibility to improve the schools they’re responsible for. Accountability only holds at the bottom and never migrates to the top.”</p>
<p>Ravitch noted that this is the first time in history that schools have been closed because of low test scores. Leaders are promoting charter schools but, on average, charter schools do not outperform regular public schools. She also asserted that charter schools don’t want the lowest performing students, such as those with disabilities or those who don’t speak English, because these youngsters will bring test scores down. “Why don’t [officials] find out why the [public] schools are struggling and provide the help and resources they need to help their children?” she asked.</p>
<p>Ravitch discussed the Parent Trigger Law passed in the California legislature in 2010 with other states following. The idea is if 51 percent of the parents in a school choose to privatize the school, the school will leave the district and become a charter school. “The problem is the school doesn’t really belong to the parents,” she said. “It belongs to the public. The public paid for it. The public built it. These are public schools.</p>
<p>“One of the most important reasons I changed my mind about so many of these ideas was I realized how every community needs basic public services.” Ravitch said privatization is linked with the movement for high-stakes accountability, noting that high-stakes testing produces pressure to narrow the curriculum and teach to the test.</p>
<p>“Teachers have lost their professional autonomy,” she asserted. “All teachers are expected to teach the same content with the same method with the same outcome.” She called teacher evaluations a “quagmire” and said merit pay initiatives have never been shown to be effective. “The main effect of judging teachers by the test scores of their students will be to demoralize teachers who realize they are being judged by factors most of which are out of their control,” added Ravitch.</p>
<p>Twenty-first century education should value creativity, divergent thinking, innovation, and idealism for students and teachers. “We must insist that every neighborhood has good community schools and that every public official who is put in charge of public education has an obligation to support that development,” she concluded. Teachers in the audience—many of them Barnard alumnae—agreed with Ravitch’s assessments, particularly about high-stakes testing and pay incentives.</p>
<p>“High-stakes testing is taking away a teacher’s ability to be creative, to be spontaneous, to engage students in authentic learning,” said Vanessa D’Egidio ’08. “It’s pretty much been boiled down to teaching to the test, a very formulaic approach to education.”</p>
<p>Brett Murphy ’07 said the first public school at which she taught was a pilot school for pay incentives. They won the award, but no one really paid attention to it. “It made no difference in the way that anyone was working,” said Murphy, who teaches 11th-grade U.S. history. “It’s not what you’re thinking about when you’re day-to-day working with kids.” <em>— by Lois Elfman ’80</em></p>
<p><em>Illustration by Jonathan Bartlett</em></p>
<p><a href="https://barnard.edu/headlines/public-good-faculty-reflect-lecture-diane-ravitch"><em>Click here to watch a video of the lecture</em></a></p>
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</div></div></div>Tue, 08 May 2012 22:04:46 +0000dstaab12135 at https://barnard.eduThe Writing Fellowshttps://barnard.edu/headlines/writing-fellows
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-32" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">writing</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-43" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">student</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><img alt="Illustration by Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch" class="image-inline_large" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_large/public/images/inline/final.jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0;" title="Illustration by Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch" />The goal of Barnard’s writing fellows program is simple: It’s meant to help every student write better, no matter what her major. An invaluable resource for the college community since 1991, the program is staffed by undergraduates who receive a semester’s worth of training from Pam Cobrin, director of writing and speaking programs at Barnard. Once trained, these students help their peers strengthen their writing skills, serving as “educated readers” and emphasizing the process of writing. The program also incorporates the Erica Mann Jong ’63 Writing Center, which was established in 1996. Jong ’63, the world-famous writer for whom the Center is named, continues to support the program, and agrees that the sooner students learn to develop their writing, the better. “In college we are open to new ideas. It’s the ideal time to craft these skills,” she says.</p>
<p>Women who write well across many topics will fare well beyond the classroom in today’s age of the Internet, where nonfiction writing has become increasingly important. As Jong observes, “On the Internet, we are our words. Whether we are scientists, lawyers, political theorists, or artists we are defined by the way we use language. More than ever we need language to be vivid; it may be all people know of us.”</p>
<p>In a very selective process, Cobrin seeks students to become fellows who are flexible in their thinking and excellent communicators, and who possess knowledge of writing structures and rules. Since the program is dedicated to writing across the curriculum, fellows represent a full range of majors. They are then committed to working a minimum of three semesters; in any given term there will be 45 fellows. Coordinating all this activity of the writing and speaking programs as well as day-to-day operations is Cecelia Lie ’11.</p>
<p>Students who wish to enlist the help of a writing fellow can seek appointments on an individual, as-needed basis. They may also come in contact with them through a course connected with the Center. Barnard faculty can request fellows to be attached to their courses to help students in the class with several written assignments over the semester. The professor meets with the fellow to go over the nature of the assignments, each of which has two due dates. The fellow reads the first draft before she meets with the student writer to review comments and suggestions. The second draft is the final version submitted to the instructor for grading. Although the Center does not track the grades of students who seek help, the constant wait list for appointments and the high demand from the faculty are two measures of the program’s success.</p>
<p>Feedback from faculty over the years has been positive. Gail Archer, professor of professional practice and director of the music program, whose “Introduction to Music” course has been associated with the program from the beginning, finds that her students are more concise, better organized, and use language more elegantly after working with fellows. Sharon Harrison of the economics department requests fellows for her “First Year Seminar,” which includes drafting an op-ed piece and an analytical paper. “It’s good to have someone for the students to talk with about these assignments. The fellows help with developing ideas at the early stages,” she says.</p>
<p>For the student seeking individual consultation, a fellow can relieve some of the stress of writing a paper. Lucy Hunter ’12, an art-history major and current fellow, says that people arriving at the Center in tears often feel better after listening to constructive feedback. She adds, “In an hour, a miserable student can become invigorated about her topic and excited for the work ahead. Peer-to-peer discourse drains the intensity.” A kind, helpful, and enthusiastic fellow can make all the difference; Gladyn Innocent ’14, an English and Africana studies major, wanted to be a writing fellow for this reason. Innocent collaborated with a writing fellow during a Barnard pre-college program and says that the ways in which writing was discussed, and the methods with which the fellow guided her through her own thoughts were “amazing.”</p>
<p>What are the most common writing issues faced by Barnard students? “I don’t think of writing mechanics in terms of problems,” remarks Hunter. She notices the most pronounced trend is a resistance to arguing; students are reluctant to criticize existing scholarship. Working with a fellow, the focus is on intellectual communication. This encourages students to feel more authorized to tackle a special topic and to have authority over their content. The fellow is not there to correct grammar (“You can have a paper with perfect grammar but no idea,” says Cobrin), but to include grammar, structure, and ideas as part of the same package. A student gets to hear what her writing sounds like to a non-judgmental reader often outside the subject area.</p>
<p>While fellows push students to go into other forums of written expression with confidence, fellows are strengthening their own papers. Innocent says her writing benefits from revising and assisting with others’ work. Her communication skills, including public speaking, have improved as well. “Creating a conversation with people whom I do not know has become easier,” she says.</p>
<p>The Writing Center and writing fellows program represent much more than coaching writers. Jong sees the work of the Center and its fellows as the epitome of mentorship. “Mentoring is the new feminism,” she says. “It’s vitally important that we learn how to mentor each other. The creation of culture is not a solitary skill. Women need to practice collaboration.” As a mentor, Innocent fully invests herself in the work, becoming as anxious as the student awaiting reception of a paper. Hunter avers it is about inclusion and creative democracy, noting that power hierarchies reward the fluent and disenfranchise the untaught. It is also about agency—who is active and who is passive. Crafting a convincing argument in a paper is about the active voice, making a claim, and supporting it. Perhaps this explains the writing fellow program’s informal motto: “Join the Revolution.” <em>—by Stephanie Shestakow ’98</em></p>
<p><em>Illustration by Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch</em></p>
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</div></div></div>Tue, 08 May 2012 21:47:37 +0000dstaab12133 at https://barnard.eduSalon: A Harrowing Choicehttps://barnard.edu/headlines/salon-harrowing-choice
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-32" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">writing</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <h4><img alt="I Couldn't Love You More by Jillian Medoff " class="image-inline_medium" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_medium/public/images/inline/i_couldnt_love_you_more.jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 1em 1em 0;" title="I Couldn't Love You More by Jillian Medoff " />I Couldn’t Love you more<br />
by Jillian Medoff ’85<br />
Grand Central Publishing, 2012, $13.99</h4>
<p>Even as a little girl, Jillian Medoff knew she wanted to be a writer, but she also knew early on that she didn’t want to have to rely on her art to make a living. And so for nearly three decades, Medoff has carefully constructed a life—and a career—that contains time to write, revise, and eventually publish her novels.</p>
<p>“For the past 15 years, I’ve worked four days a week,” says Medoff, who works in corporate communications in Manhattan. “In theory, at this stage in my career I should be a partner or a practice leader. But I intentionally stay at a level that isn’t as visible, that doesn’t take on responsibility for too many other people. I keep my work life at a level that allows me to maintain my artistic focus.”</p>
<p>Those decisions have borne fruit: In May, Medoff’s third novel, <em>I Couldn’t Love You More, </em>was published by Grand Central Publishing. It’s an absorbing tale narrated by Eliot Harmon, a 30-something working mother who juggles her career and her relationships with her partner, Grant, and their three daughters, two of whom are Grant’s children from a previous relationship with an eccentric sculptor. Eliot’s life is a chaotic, happy jumble until her long-lost first boyfriend reappears and knocks her off kilter, ultimately forcing her to make a split-second decision about whether she’ll save her own daughter or her stepdaughter from very real danger. </p>
<p>The novel turns on the type of situation no parent—no human being—wants to imagine, let alone dwell upon at length. But frankly facing the question of which child you would save was critically important to Medoff, who herself has one daughter and two stepdaughters. “As a stepmother and a mother, you always go there in your head—and as a writer you have to go there,” she says. “If you haven’t, you’ve risked nothing for your book.”</p>
<p>Medoff transferred to Barnard from Brandeis University as a junior, looking for a vibrant community that would also give her time to write. She found both at the College, where she wrote her first novel in an independent study with the novelist B.J. Chute. “Novelists seemed like they existed in some kind of esoteric, closed society before that,” Medoff says. “Studying with B.J. was a phenomenal experience for me as a young person who’d never before felt like this was something I could do.”</p>
<p>Medoff also found inspiration in the works of novelists like Mona Simpson who construct stories that center around ordinary happenings in everyday life. “I <img alt="Jillian Medoff Photograph by Marion Ettlinger" class="image-inline_small" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_small/public/images/inline/jillian_medoff.ettlinger.jpg" style="float:right;margin:0 0 1em 1em;" title="Jillian Medoff Photograph by Marion Ettlinger" />realized you don’t have to write about [a world tragedy] to tell a compelling story,” she says. However, women who write about domestic lives from the perspective of female narrators are virtually ensured that their work will be relegated to what Medoff describes as “the women’s fiction ghetto.”</p>
<p>That’s a problem to which Medoff says she simply can’t devote much time. “You have to write what you want to write,” she asserts. “I want to be thought of as a serious artist but sales dictate how authors are categorized, and there’s not a lot I can do about that.”</p>
<p>As the new novel makes its way to readers, Medoff is already halfway through her next work, which is about relationships in a corporate human resources department. The story is told by multiple narrators, several of whom are male. As she’s done with many of the other key decisions in her life, Medoff took this approach purposefully—in this case, to stretch herself technically.</p>
<p>With <em>I Couldn’t Love You More, </em>she set herself the challenge of raising the stakes in the somewhat traditional narrative arc of a woman choosing between two men. Though her readers may lose some sleep in the process—the novel is the type of page-turner that keeps you reading far later into the night than you’d planned—they’re likely to be satisfied with how Medoff ties the story together. “With this book, I said to myself, ‘I’m going to write about the things that people think about but don’t say,’” Medoff explains. “It’s profoundly harrowing, but so exhilarating at the same time.” <em>—by Michaela Cavallaro</em></p>
<p><em>Photograph by Marion Ettlinger</em></p>
<p> </p>
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</div></div></div>Tue, 08 May 2012 21:36:20 +0000dstaab12132 at https://barnard.eduSalon:Strings That Swinghttps://barnard.edu/headlines/salonstrings-swing
<div class="field field-name-field-taxonomytopics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-179" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">alumnae</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/topics-2" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">art</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/topics-74" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">music</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><img alt="Elana James, Photograph by Todd V. Wolfson" class="image-inline_large" src="https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/styles/inline_large/public/images/inline/elana_james_credit_todd_v._wolfson.lrg_.jpg" title="Elana James, Photograph by Todd V. Wolfson" />Rigorously trained in classical violin, Elana Fremerman James could have become a symphony musician like her mother. Instead, she fell under the spell of swing jazz and toe-tapping, twangy Western swing. Today, James, 41, is one of the world’s top-selling Western-swing artists. Performing with a bass player and guitarist as the Hot Club of Cowtown, she fiddles audaciously through “Cherokee Shuffle” and sings too, crooning her own composition “Reunion” and the standard “Someone to Watch Over Me.”</p>
<p>“What we do is very special, it’s unique and it’s incredibly American, and we haven’t watered it down or made it cheesy,” says James, who drew her stage name from her middle name, Jaime. “A lot of times when people revisit old standards, there’s this idea that they have to be done in this coy, ironic way. By avoiding clichés, we’ve been able to sustain ourselves over years when other bands have flared up and blown out.”</p>
<p>James has been touring for about 15 years, making regular appearances at folk festivals and venues across the country. She’s been a guest on <em>A Prairie Home Companion</em> and toured and recorded with Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan. An avid global traveler, she has shared her love of Western swing and swing jazz with audiences from London to Japan. This summer she’ll perform with the band at the Montana Folk Festival and in September at the Bristol Rhythm &amp; Roots Reunion festival in Tennessee and Virginia.</p>
<p>Her next album, scheduled for a fall release, features 1930s French jazz standards inspired by jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli, who formed the Quintette du Hot Club de France with Django Reinhardt. “The music they made together,” she says, “was just unprecedented, incredibly exciting, beautiful, sublime, romantic.”</p>
<p>It’s the kind of music you might hear on a Woody Allen movie soundtrack. Small wonder, then, that Allen’s acoustic tribute to his beloved Manhattan was one inspiration for James, a native of Prairie Village, Kansas, to attend Barnard. While at Barnard, James balanced violin and viola study at the Manhattan School of Music with her classwork in comparative religion. She became fascinated by religion during her travels through India and Nepal, but music, particularly folk fiddling, proved irresistible. The style that best suited her, she discovered, is a direct descendant of European jazz and folk, an amalgam of “Gypsy jazz” and Hungarian and Romanian peasant tunes. “It’s like people remember it even though they’ve never heard it,” she says.</p>
<p>James’ virtuosity and her connection with audiences made her ideal for a gig in Azerbaijan in 2006. The U.S. Department of State hired the Hot Club of Cowtown to perform more than a dozen concerts over the course of a week and introduce elementary school students to Western swing. The first American band to tour outside Azerbaijan’s capital, the trio even received a last-minute invitation to a wedding, where they jammed with local musicians.</p>
<p>“They just about got mobbed loading their instruments into the back of the van,” says Liz Murphy, cultural outreach officer for the state department’s cultural programs division. “They were wonderful representatives, and Elana couldn’t have been nicer to work with.”</p>
<p>The state department hired James again in 2011, sending the Hot Club of Cowtown to Oman to showcase traditional fiddle tunes at a cultural arts and music festival near Yemen. Playing “I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love With Me” for an audience of women, some in burkas, was a slightly surreal experience, notes James.</p>
<p>Despite her fondness for international travel, she does plan to scale back her touring from 150 shows a year to cocoon for a little while in her Austin home. She’s eager to focus on composing, honing her technique, and staying musically honest, a trait she admires in Bob Dylan. “I still think of him all the time when I perform,” James says. “I like his attitude. To me, what he’s bringing forth from himself is something very deep and very honest. When the song comes out of him, it’s very true. That is my favorite thing in any performer. My favorite players and my favorite vocalists have the same quality: They’re telling the truth.” <em>— by June D. Bell</em></p>
<p><em>Photograph by Todd V. Wolfson</em></p>
<p> </p>
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</div></div></div>Tue, 08 May 2012 21:24:30 +0000dstaab12131 at https://barnard.edu